Disclaimer: as chapter one, so please do not keep making me write it out. This is for fun and not for profit! If I wanted to own any of this, trust me it would ONLY be Jack Gallagher. Lol!
WARNING: SOME MILD SWEARING - SO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!
All reviews, and constructive criticism, gratefully received – but no flaming please; and I will try to update regularly.
'Thoughts'
"Speech"
Author's note: the two stories regarding the chocolate are both completely true and happened to me.
Summary: So, Lexie doesn't like Jack's step father any more than he does; James' not overstruck on her either. What does Jack think of it all? JGxOFC
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PIECES OF THE HEART
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Everyone left the restaurant so they could go home and get changed for the party; it helped that the owner was a personal friend of Zack's and was letting them use the function room at the back for a donation to his favourite charity – something Zack was very happy to do; it also meant they could come and go as they pleased. The big plus was that the food there was brilliant, and she was thrilled they were going to do their special chocolate dessert for the sweet section of the buffet; at least that part was going right – as for the people...hmmm...
Veronica was alternately in gales of laughter or floods of tears even as she was leaving; Lexie was convinced she could go into labour at any second, literally, as she'd been the same just before she'd had Molly. It was clear that Rylan Moore was going to be on a knife edge, by her reckoning at least, as to whether he made it back in time for the delivery of his baby or not.
Still, Lexie would keep her fingers crossed that all would be well tonight for her friend. She would keep everything else crossed that James Stroud behaved himself; she had to admit that, after spending only about half an hour in his company, she didn't like the man.
He seemed nice, but his words were not as pleasant as was implied and she disliked slyness like that – she believed if you were going to criticise someone, just come out and do it; don't do it in such a way that if they take affront you can pretend you didn't mean it the way they knew you did. Carl Belle could learn a lot from James Stroud of that she was sure; Belle was in your face patronising, James was much more artful about it.
Becca seemed okay with her stepfather being around; she was all for keeping the peace to spare her mum any embarrassment. However, Jack – who was usually so affable – was not as accommodating and seemed as antagonistic to his stepfather as James was to him.
She turned to look at Jack who was making coffee before flopping on the sofa; it seemed like she and Molly had lived with him forever instead of a month. She liked his apartment a lot; and they'd decided she'd move in with him, rather than he with her. There was a room for Molly that was, thankfully, no smaller than her old room; because the child had some serious junk with her, even after throw outs for the move.
Becca was staying in her old place; Lexie was still uncertain enough about the long term success of her relationship with Jack for her to ensure she retained a bolt hole, should things go belly up between them. So letting his sister, and her best friend, stay there seemed like an excellent solution for everyone.
It meant Becca was independent; but in a way that Lexie, Jack and Zack could help if needed without it seeming too intrusive as she was, technically, her landlord. As for Jack, he had absolutely no intention of ever letting Lexie go; indeed he seemed really happy with life these days – even Belle's carping at him was ignored for the most part. However, if he wondered at the way his previously minimalist apartment had become so cluttered he didn't say.
Now he was slouched on the sofa pensively sipping coffee and staring into nothing; a frown pulling his brows down. She put her own cup on the coffee table in front of him, before leaning over and rubbing her fingers between his eyes "hey, you don't look like you when you do that; it's creepy, like some kind of invasion of the eyebrow snatchers."
He grinned and used his free hand to pull her onto his lap "you have a certain way with words Mrs Holloway; they always cheer me up."
She grinned back but then waved an arm at the stuff around the open plan area "what about all this though; are you alright with this cluttering up of your space? I mean I do tell Molly to keep it in her room and I keep taking it back there, but before I've even got back to where I started it's migrated out here again."
He shook his head "it's fine; I can stand the clutter - it's attached to you and Molly." He kissed her briefly before continuing "besides, I'm sure you think my mum is the epitome of good taste and elegant living; but her house is the soul of kitsch collectibles. James has made her move it because it was getting so ridiculous; so it's gone into her sewing room and what wouldn't fit has, apparently, been boxed up and put in the attic. So this" he wagged a hand "is child's play compared to my mum. Trust me when I say you're in the minor leagues in clutter compared to her."
Lexie looked dubiously at the chaos her daughter could generate single-handedly, not to mention her own stuff – though Molly's jumble certainly far outweighed her own "I find that hard to believe; I reckon my daughter was a magpie in a previous life. I worry that, if she doesn't find the right guy, she'll end up a little old lady with a house full cats and only a path to the various things she needs, like the toilet and bed – the rest of her place will be floor to ceiling garbage and she'll live on tv dinners because she can't find the kitchen."
Jack chuckled "this from the woman who has a twenty year old bar of chocolate – I swear that thing must be fossilised by now."
Lexie had the good grace to blush, but defended herself "yeah, but that was bought for me by my mum's best friend the week before she died. Plus it was the last time I saw her..."
"I know, I know – it's sentimental; and then there's the two year old tube of chocolates that spell out "I luv my mom" that Molly bought you for mother's day that's still in the fridge uneaten; and which will no doubt one day join the growing fossilised sweet collection. Molly says they're the only times you've never, as she put it, "scarfed down the chocolate."
Lexie nodded "guilty as charged; but in both cases it would seem criminal to eat chocolate that has so much love and memories attached. My mum's friend got me that bar of chocolate because I had the flu; she didn't complain about the liver cancer eating away at her, oh no it was my flu she worried about; yet a week later she was gone. As for Molly, well she knows I love any chocolate, but that was special and so..."
He put down his cup and kissed her thoroughly before she could finish and then smiled at her; she opened her eyes a little dreamily "now who's cheating?" she murmured with her own smile.
He sighed, resting his forehead against hers; becoming very pensive again "about James..."
She leant back so she could see his expression, and pressed a finger to his lips "shh; its fine – he thinks he's right about everything, big whoop. Listen, if I can cope without killing Carl Belle by now, who's a lot more in your face with his rudeness, then I think James is going to live through one night."
Jack kissed her finger before pulling her hand away "that's fine for you; for me, I'm not so sure..."
Lexie shook her head at him and grinned in delight "so he's your heel."
"My heel?" Jack was perplexed; though it was something he was getting used to with Lexie – particularly when he thought about the verbal shorthand she had with his sister. They could hold entire conversations without actually finishing a sentence, leaving him and Zack completely confused.
"Your Achilles heel; the one thing that really makes you angry - it's amazing; you frown and everything. There were me and Molly, even Zack, thinking you never got genuinely mad – well, not really – and we were so wrong. We felt you were impervious to being anything more than irritated or annoyed; but here's your stepfather to prove to us how wrong we were."
She chuckled "you get so grouchy, you scowl and he's not even here; it's really funny..."
Jack sighed and pressed his forehead to hers once more "am I really that bad?"
She hugged him to her; one thing Jack was quickly realising was that when she loved you, Lexie did it with her whole heart. She didn't overdo it though; he knew that if he was more reticent about her affection, then she would be less demonstrative to accommodate that about him.
However, the fact that he loved all the hugging and kissing, as well as other things – he stifled the smirk at that thought - meant that she was more than happy to respond. Though he had to admit that she was still a little bit unwilling to be too affectionate in public; amongst friends was one thing, but out in the street was entirely different.
She'd told Becca it was because she was scared that someone would come up say that an ugly woman like her "couldn't have someone as wonderful as Jack" – it made him so sad that she still thought like that; but he hadn't mentioned it to her because he didn't want break his sister's confiding in him, so Lexie didn't know that he was aware of her real fears for not really wanting PDAs.
But that was why the kiss in front of his mum and James had surprised him so much tonight. However, the rest of the time she was at least happy to hold hands; so he could touch her like that when they were out – and he did so like to touch her...
"Am I?" he repeated, dragging himself back to the now before he hauled her off to the bedroom for some serious touching.
She smiled and kissed his forehead, completely unaware of where his thoughts had been heading "nope; personally I'm surprised you haven't killed him already. You grew up with him; I only spent about half an hour in his company and wanted to punch him – you definitely have the right to be pissed at him."
She nodded, her eyes twinkling "it'd be like me growing up with Belle for my brother – trust me when I say he would not have lived to an old age; in fact I doubt he would've lived to his current age."
"Aww, you're just being nice to me because I have finally shown my fatal flaw – but see, I am not perfect."
Lexie rolled her eyes as she moved to stand up "oh, that old chestnut; are you still miffed that I said you were perfect?" She knew he still thought she'd insulted him by calling him perfect when they fought that time at Zack's.
He pulled her back more fully into his lap "oh no, no escaping for you; I think that I have now proven that I'm far from perfect, James would vouch for that; and you need to be punished for thinking I was..." he then proceeded to set about kissing her into oblivion.
Well, until Molly came in and made a gagging sound "ewww! Get/a/room; jeez, seeing old folks kissing is not cool, trust me."
Lexie gave her daughter a smirk "listen here kiddo, one day you too will be this old..."
"Yeah, but not for like, a hundred years!" she ran off laughing as her mother gave a scandalised gasp and pretended to move to chase her.
Jack looked at the child's retreating back with a grin "she's cute; ever wanted more?"
Lexie looked at him askance "are you crazy? One of Molly is enough; I mean I adore..."
"We..."
"Fine; we adore her – I'm just not sure the rest of the world would love another one of her that much." She grinned "I doubt James would; did you hear what she said to him this afternoon?"
"Nope; what did she say?"
"Mr Stroud, I should really point out the strict zoning regs for this place that my mum will rigorously enforce; so will Jack." Lexie couldn't keep the chuckle down as she continued "so your stepdad frowns and says "what zoning regulations?" and starts peering round for the certificates. So Molly gives him an innocent look and replies "the main one is the 'no whining' zone that encompasses the entire building. Break that and you're in dangerous waters; my mum especially isn't keen on the whole whining thing and I don't think Jack's a fan either – just an FYI for you."
Jack continued to grin, imagining his stepfather's horror at such cheek "what did James do?"
"He glared and told her that he didn't think people liked anyone with a sarcastic attitude; she just grinned and said that sarcasm wasn't an attitude, it was an art form."
Jack laughed out loud "really? What did my stepfather say to that? Especially as he's of the 'seen and not heard' brigade where kids are concerned..."
"He said she should learn to control her "smart mouth"; Molly shrugged and said that as far as she was concerned sarcasm was not only what made life tolerable, but it was also the only thing that made her stop short of killing arrogant, stupid people. The way she said it almost implied that he would be her first victim..."
Jack was still laughing "that's my girl; she has a smart mouth, just like her mother – so, for once in his life, James is right. However, I wouldn't have it any other way..."
He made to kiss her again, but she dodged up and out of his reach "listen we've still got this damn party to go to and if I don't show up it will be your sister doing the killing, trust me."
Jack just grinned as he let her tug him off the sofa and towards the bedroom, only allowing himself a moment's disappointment that it wasn't for another reason altogether; but Lexie wasn't wrong about his sister and he knew all the blame if they were late would be laid squarely at his door. He grimaced to himself as he replied "I'm right behind you..."
